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B.C.'s Sunshine Coast lives up to its name

An afternoon mist lifts in Sechelt, the commercial hub of the Sunshine Coast.

To some, the name Sunshine Coast is a brilliant marketing ploy. Others insist that the 177-kilometre stretch of coastline northwest of Vancouver does indeed get more sun and enjoy warmer weather than the Lower Mainland.

I set out over a recent weekend to get to the bottom of things. Would I be basking in Caribbean-strength rays of golden sun ... or socked into the same old Vancouver clouds?

After taking the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale - a 40-minute trip highlighted by a pod of otters frolicking in the sound - I started my weekend in the historic town of Gibsons. Auspiciously, the sun was blazing down: not a cloud in the coastal sky.

Settled by a British sea captain in 1829, Gibsons is perhaps best known as the setting for Beachcombers, the quirky Canadian TV series. Down at the harbour, I stopped in Molly's Reach restaurant, the scene of many a Beachcomber's episode, for a quick bite to eat. Atmospheric - with old screenplays on the wall - Molly's offers decent, if not exactly cheap, burgers and pub fare and nice views of the marina.

Properly nourished, I set out for Soames Hill, a popular local hike promising panoramic views of the town and the coastline. A kind of mini Grouse Grind, the trail ascends a steep, forested slope to a series of rocky promontories. After a half-hour of climbing, I was rewarded with a vista of blue seas and clear blue skies. Afterward, I followed the coastal road to one of the Sunshine Coast's most historic inns: the Bonniebrook Lodge. Originally built in 1929, the four-storey lodge sits near the water's edge and looks out on an expanse of pebble beach, driftwood and calm seas dotted here and there with the heads of seals. I climbed to my room on the fourth floor, where a small patio offered great views of the entire scene.

The Bonniebrook is also justly known for its restaurant, Chasters. If you're looking to go all out on a memorable dinner on this section of the Coast - white tablecloths and all - this is probably your best and perhaps only option. Cuisine is French-inspired: local fish, meat and fowl, prepared simply and tastefully. I can attest that the rack of lamb compares favourably with anything on offer in Vancouver.

The next day, I continued north along Highway 101, winding through long stretches of dense coastal forest - a vision of what Vancouver may have looked like a century or so ago. On a tip, I stopped just outside the town of Roberts Creek at Cliff Gilker Park. Easy trails parallel a series of sparkling streams, which tumble down waterfalls and whirl in eddies. The scenery feels primordial: towering groves of evergreens, trunks blanketed with thick green moss, and stands of ferns that thrive in the damp climate. Appetite piqued from my walk in the woods, I drove onto Sechelt, the commercial hub of life on the Sunshine Coast. Navigating through the weekend ferry traffic crawling through town, I headed for the waterfront - or what should have been the waterfront. Out of nowhere, a thick white mist had rolled in from the sea, settling over the beach and seawall and reducing visibility to practically nothing.

I grabbed a snack at a little café called Wheatberries and wandered out on to the fishing pier, semi-hidden in the chilly haze. Where sea, mountains and sky should have been was nothing but cloud and mist. It looked like my luck with the weather had run out.

But while Vancouver can be socked in for days at a time, in Sechelt the mist burned off in less than an hour. Before long, locals had taken to the beach and were basking on giant boulders, enjoying an early spring blast of vitamin D. A bald eagle called down from the top of a giant evergreen and, in the distance, a tugboat slowly cut the calm waters.

I snagged a seat on a prime park bench and could easily have stayed all afternoon, but nature called.

Not really the rustic, outdoorsy type, I still wanted to experience a night under the stars on the Sunshine Coast. So I decided to set up camp ... sort of. Just north of Sechelt is Rock-water Resort, which offers a unique type of accommodation called a "tent-house suite." Perched on a wooded slope above Secret Cove, Rockwater's "tents" are equipped with heated stone floors and fireplaces, queen sized beds and even bathtubs (They've got a lot more in common with a fancy hotel room than a tent, to be honest ... with a price to match.)

By the time I got settled in my tent-house, the sun was already starting to dip below Texada Island out in the Georgia Strait, throwing golden light over the water. A pair of eagles called back and forth, as the sky turned into a palette of pastels. After dark, I got my wish: a clear night sky crowded with glittering stars.

The next morning, my luck with the weather held. The day dawned warm (almost hot) and cloudless, and I continued my road trip north to Pender Harbour. At points, the highway here feels like little more than logging road, winding up and down hills and taking extreme twists. I hung a sharp left onto Francis Peninsula, a craggy headland thrust into the Malaspina Strait.

Easy to miss, with no signs I could find, is the newly created Francis Point Provincial Park. In 2001, some benevolent soul donated a massive swath of rugged, waterfront property to the province. I wandered along a trail studded with some of the last old growth Western hemlocks on the coast - looming like giants over their second-growth brothers.

Along the coastline, the terrain turns drier, nearly Mediterranean, with rusty-coloured Arbutus trees clinging to rocky outcroppings high above the strait. A 30-minute hike took me to a craggy headland marked with a tiny white lighthouse. A pair of seals floated just offshore. Apart from a boat motoring through the water, there wasn't a soul in sight.

To cap off the weekend, I had arranged a stay at the Sunshine Coast's biggest resort ... though biggest is a relative term. Painted Boat consists of 31 villas built on the edge of Gerrans Bay, a tidal lagoon that drains and fills twice daily. Taking advantage of the spring sun, kids were doing cannonballs into the resort pool, while a family was in the midst of a heated round of bocce ball on the lawn.

Painted Boat has developed a loyal following among foodies, who make the 2½-hour trek from the Lower Mainland to the resort restaurant for some of the coast's better cuisine. Putting on European airs, Painted Boat even offers something called a Chef in a Villa option. If you're ready to splurge, executive chef Marcus Bugoy will knock on your door with all the ingredients for a five-course tasting menu. While he chops, aerates, fricassees and bakes, guests can sit back and enjoy the view from the patio, as the sun sinks lower and the shad-Bar ows lengthen over the resort marina.

Just after sunset, I trekked down to the lagoon and wandered out on the docks, where boats were tied up tightly for the night. A pair of boys cast fishing poles into the glass-still water. Somewhere, a bald eagle was sending its shrill cry into the night. Other than that, there was absolute silence.

The scene felt about a million miles from the traffic and Lululemon-clad mobs of the Lower Mainland. As Vancouver has become a global destination, true getaways from the city have a become harder to find - Whistler, Vancouver Island and even the Okanagan has become crowded with travellers, but, remarkably, the Sunshine Coast remains largely overlooked - at least for now. At least if you get as lucky with weather as I did, doesn't hurt either.

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